Highlights of Ameris's results for the first quarter of 2026 include the following:

Net income of $110.5 million, or $1.63 per diluted share
Return on average assets of 1.62%
Return on average tangible common equity⁽¹⁾ of 14.75%
Net interest margin (TE) expansion of 3bps to 3.88% for the first quarter of 2026
Growth in earning assets of $607.8 million, or 9.7% annualized
Loan growth of $314.5 million, or 5.9% annualized
Deposit growth of $260.7 million, or 4.7% annualized
Efficiency ratio of 49.97%, an improvement from 52.83% for the first quarter of 2025
Revenue growth of 9.5% annualized in the first quarter of 2026
Noninterest-bearing deposit mix improved to 29.8% of total deposits
Annualized net charge-offs declined to 0.21% of average total loans
Tangible book value⁽¹⁾ growth of $0.61 per share, or 5.6% annualized, to $44.79 at March 31, 2026
Increased share repurchases totaling $74.9 million, or 950,400 shares, in the quarter

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) (the "Company" or "Ameris") today reported net income of $110.5 million, or $1.63 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared with $87.9 million, or $1.27 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2025.

Commenting on the Company's results, Palmer Proctor, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, said, "First quarter was a strong start to the year with our performance metrics continuing to outpace the broader industry. Our ROA expanded to 1.62%, our return on average tangible common equity grew to 14.75% and our margin expanded 3 basis points to 3.88% for the first quarter. The continued focus on expenses across the Company resulted in an efficiency ratio just under 50% despite some seasonal headwinds. Growth was robust with annualized revenue growth in the high single digits and annualized loan and deposit growth in the mid-single digits. We were more active in our share repurchase program, buying back almost $75 million of our common stock in the quarter or approximately 1.4% of our outstanding equity. Overall, another solid quarter from Ameris with our focus remaining on profitably growing our franchise across our attractive Southeast markets."

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis (TE) was $245.4 million in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of $903,000, or 0.4%, from last quarter and an increase of $22.6 million, or 10.2%, compared with the first quarter of 2025. The Company's average earning assets increased during the quarter by $265.2 million, or 4.2% annualized, primarily due to an increase of $311.9 million in average portfolio loans outstanding and an increase of $99.7 million in the average balance of investment securities, partially offset by a decrease in average loans held for sale of $142.1 million.

The Company's net interest margin expanded to 3.88% for the first quarter of 2026, a three-basis point increase from 3.85% reported for the fourth quarter of 2025 and a 15-basis point improvement from the 3.73% reported for the first quarter of 2025.

Yields on earning assets decreased four basis points during the quarter to 5.57%, compared with 5.61% in the fourth quarter of 2025. This decrease is primarily related to a two-basis point decrease in yield on portfolio loans outstanding during the first quarter of 2026.

The Company's total cost of funds decreased seven basis points to 1.88% in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 1.95% in the fourth quarter of 2025, and improved 18 basis points compared with the first quarter of 2025. Deposit costs decreased 11 basis points during the first quarter of 2026 to 1.76%, compared with 1.87% in the fourth quarter of 2025. Costs of interest-bearing deposits during the quarter were 2.50%, a decrease of 16 basis points compared with the fourth quarter of 2025.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income increased $8.1 million, or 13.1%, in the first quarter of 2026 to $69.9 million, compared with $61.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2025. Mortgage banking activity increased $5.1 million, or 16.1%, to $37.0 million in the first quarter of 2026, compared with $31.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2025. Total production in the retail mortgage division seasonally decreased $128.4 million, or 10.6%, to $1.09 billion in the first quarter of 2026, compared with $1.22 billion for the fourth quarter of 2025. The retail mortgage open pipeline was $632.7 million at the end of the first quarter of 2026, compared with $701.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2025. Gain on sale spreads decreased to 2.08% in the first quarter of 2026 from 2.20% for the fourth quarter of 2025. Other noninterest income increased $2.8 million, or 44.4%, in the first quarter of 2026 to $9.1 million, compared with $6.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2025. This increase is primarily due to a $1.1 million loss on the sale of mortgage servicing rights and a $910,000 servicing right impairment in the fourth quarter of 2025, both of which did not recur in the current quarter, and an $837,000 increase in gain on sale of SBA loans in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the fourth quarter of 2025.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense increased $14.0 million, or 9.8%, to $157.1 million during the first quarter of 2026, compared with $143.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2025. The increase was primarily driven by cyclical increases in payroll tax and 401(k) expenses totaling $4.9 million, an increase in incentives of $4.3 million, an increase in advertising and marketing expenses of $1.3 million, an increase of $1.1 million in FDIC assessment expense and an increase in donations of $1.0 million. Management continues to deliver high performing operating efficiency, with an efficiency ratio of 49.97% in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 46.59% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 52.83% in the first quarter of 2025.

Income Tax Expense

The Company's effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2026 was 21.5%, compared with 23.2% for the fourth quarter of 2025. The decreased rate resulted primarily from the excess benefit of share-based compensation awards that vested during the first quarter of 2026.

Balance Sheet Trends

Total assets at March 31, 2026 were $28.11 billion, compared with $27.52 billion at December 31, 2025. During the first quarter of 2026, loans, net of unearned income, increased by $314.5 million, or 5.9% annualized, compared with $21.51 billion at December 31, 2025. Unfunded commitments increased $298.7 million during the first quarter of 2026, due to strong production in construction and warehouse lending during the quarter. Loans held for sale decreased to $496.6 million at March 31, 2026 from $623.2 million at December 31, 2025. Debt securities available-for-sale amounted to $2.35 billion, compared with $2.21 billion at December 31, 2025.

At March 31, 2026, total deposits amounted to $22.64 billion, compared with $22.38 billion at December 31, 2025. During the first quarter of 2026, deposits grew $260.7 million, with noninterest-bearing accounts increasing $322.8 million, interest-bearing demand accounts increasing $168.1 million, brokered CDs increasing $143.9 million and savings accounts increasing $9.0 million. Such increases were offset by decreases in money market accounts of $330.5 million and retail CDs of $52.7 million. Noninterest-bearing accounts as a percentage of total deposits increased, such that at March 31, 2026, noninterest-bearing deposit accounts represented $6.75 billion, or 29.8% of total deposits, compared with $6.43 billion, or 28.7% of total deposits, at December 31, 2025.

Shareholders' equity at March 31, 2026 totaled $4.08 billion, an increase of $6.1 million, or 0.1%, from December 31, 2025. The increase in shareholders' equity was primarily the result of earnings of $110.5 million during the first quarter of 2026, largely offset by dividends declared, share repurchases and a decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income of $9.8 million resulting from changes in interest rates on the Company's investment portfolio. Tangible book value per share⁽¹⁾ increased $0.61 per share, or 5.6% annualized, during the first quarter of 2026 to $44.79 at March 31, 2026. Tangible common equity as a percentage of tangible assets was 11.15% at March 31, 2026, compared with 11.37% at the end of 2025. The Company repurchased 950,400 shares of its common stock in the quarter ending March 31, 2026.

Credit Quality

During the first quarter of 2026, the Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $16.6 million, compared with a provision of $23.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. The allowance for credit losses on loans was 1.62% of loans at March 31, 2026, unchanged from the end of 2025. Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets increased one basis point to 0.45% during the quarter. Approximately $34.5 million, or 27.0%, of the nonperforming assets at March 31, 2026 were GNMA-guaranteed mortgage loans, which present minimal loss exposure for the Company. Excluding these government-guaranteed loans, nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets decreased two basis points to 0.33% at March 31, 2026, compared with 0.35% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. The net charge-off ratio was 21 basis points for the first quarter of 2026, compared with 26 basis points for the fourth quarter of 2025.

Conference Call

The Company will host a teleconference at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, April 24, 2026, to discuss the Company's results and answer appropriate questions. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 1-844-481-2939. The conference call ID is Ameris Bancorp. A replay of the call will be available beginning one hour after the end of the conference call until May 1, 2026. To listen to the replay, dial 1-855-669-9658. The conference replay access code is 4888731. The financial information discussed will be available on the Investor Relations page of the Ameris Bank website at ir.amerisbank.com. Participants also may listen to a live webcast of the presentation by visiting the link on the Investor Relations page of the Ameris Bank website.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp is the parent of Ameris Bank, a state-chartered bank headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Ameris operates financial centers in five southeastern states and also serves consumer and business customers nationwide through select lending channels. Ameris manages $28.1 billion in assets as of March 31, 2026, and provides a full range of traditional banking and lending products, treasury and cash management, insurance premium financing, and mortgage and refinancing services. Learn more about Ameris at www.amerisbank.com.

⁽¹⁾Considered non-GAAP financial measure - See reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures in tables 9A - 9D.

This news release contains certain performance measures determined by methods other than in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). The Company's management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in its analysis of the Company's performance. These measures are useful when evaluating the underlying performance and efficiency of the Company's operations and balance sheet. The Company's management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide a greater understanding of ongoing operations, enhance comparability of results with prior periods and demonstrate the effects of significant gains and charges in the current period. The Company's management believes that investors may use these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate the Company's financial performance without the impact of unusual items that may obscure trends in the Company's underlying performance. These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP financial measures that may be presented by other companies.

This news release contains forward-looking statements, as defined by federal securities laws, including, among other forward-looking statements, certain plans, expectations and goals. Words such as "may," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "will," "should," "plan," "estimate," "predict," "continue" and "potential" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, as well as similar expressions, are meant to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on management's opinions only as of the date hereof and are provided to assist in the understanding of potential future performance. Such forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such statements, including, without limitation, the following: general competitive, economic, unemployment, political and market conditions and fluctuations, including real estate market conditions, and the effects of such conditions and fluctuations on the creditworthiness and payment behavior of borrowers, collateral values, asset recovery values and the value of investment securities; movements in interest rates and their impacts on net interest margin, investment security valuations and other performance measures; expectations on credit quality and performance; legislative and regulatory changes; changes in U.S. government trade, monetary and fiscal policies, including tariffs; competitive pressures on product pricing and services; fraud, theft or other misconduct impacting our customers or operations; cybersecurity risks, including data breaches, malware, ransomware and account takeover; the success and timing of our business strategies and plans; our outlook and long-term goals for future growth; and natural disasters, geopolitical events, acts of war or terrorism or other hostilities, public health crises and other catastrophic events beyond our control. For a discussion of some of the other risks and other factors that may cause such forward-looking statements to differ materially from actual results, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and the Company's subsequently filed periodic reports and other filings. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements except as required by law.

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Financial Highlights	Table 1
	Three Months Ended
	Mar			Dec			Sep			Jun			Mar
(dollars in thousands except per share data)	2026			2025			2025			2025			2025
EARNINGS
Net income	$	110,492		$	108,356		$	106,029		$	109,834		$	87,935
Adjusted net income⁽¹⁾	$	110,492		$	108,838		$	104,040		$	109,444		$	88,012

COMMON SHARE DATA
Earnings per share available to common shareholders
Basic	$	1.64		$	1.59		$	1.55		$	1.60		$	1.28
Diluted	$	1.63		$	1.59		$	1.54		$	1.60		$	1.27
Adjusted diluted EPS⁽¹⁾	$	1.63		$	1.59		$	1.52		$	1.59		$	1.27
Cash dividends per share	$	0.20		$	0.20		$	0.20		$	0.20		$	0.20
Book value per share (period end)	$	60.64		$	59.92		$	58.56		$	57.02		$	55.49
Tangible book value per share (period end)⁽¹⁾	$	44.79		$	44.18		$	42.90		$	41.32		$	39.78
Weighted average number of shares
Basic		67,540,444			68,022,346			68,401,737			68,594,608			68,785,458
Diluted		67,766,997			68,328,365			68,665,669			68,796,577			69,030,331
Period end number of shares		67,320,298			68,022,316			68,587,742			68,711,043			68,910,924
Market data
High intraday price	$	87.98		$	78.99		$	76.58		$	65.43		$	68.85
Low intraday price	$	73.20		$	68.80		$	64.30		$	48.27		$	55.32
Period end closing price	$	77.99		$	74.27		$	73.31		$	64.70		$	57.57
Average daily volume		558,814			448,341			435,766			416,355			430,737

PERFORMANCE RATIOS
Return on average assets		1.62	%		1.57	%		1.56	%		1.65	%		1.36	%
Adjusted return on average assets⁽¹⁾		1.62	%		1.58	%		1.53	%		1.64	%		1.36	%
Return on average common equity		10.91	%		10.63	%		10.61	%		11.40	%		9.39	%
Adjusted return on average tangible common equity⁽¹⁾		14.75	%		14.53	%		14.29	%		15.76	%		13.15	%
Earning asset yield (TE)		5.57	%		5.61	%		5.66	%		5.64	%		5.61	%
Total cost of funds		1.88	%		1.95	%		2.05	%		2.06	%		2.06	%
Net interest margin (TE)		3.88	%		3.85	%		3.80	%		3.77	%		3.73	%
Efficiency ratio		49.97	%		46.59	%		49.19	%		51.63	%		52.83	%
Adjusted efficiency ratio⁽¹⁾		49.97	%		46.68	%		49.62	%		51.74	%		52.79	%

CAPITAL ADEQUACY (period end)
Shareholders' equity to assets		14.52	%		14.81	%		14.82	%		14.68	%		14.42	%
Tangible common equity to tangible assets⁽¹⁾		11.15	%		11.37	%		11.31	%		11.09	%		10.78	%

OTHER DATA (period end)
Full time equivalent employees
Banking Division		2,023			2,043			2,068			2,036			2,045
Retail Mortgage Division		528			538			546			550			577
Warehouse Lending Division		7			7			8			8			7
Premium Finance Division		84			85			78			78			81
Total Ameris Bancorp FTE headcount		2,642			2,673			2,700			2,672			2,710

Branch locations		163			163			164			164			164
Deposits per branch location	$	138,876		$	137,276		$	135,537		$	133,736		$	133,612

⁽¹⁾Considered non-GAAP financial measure - See reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures in tables 9A - 9D

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Income Statement	Table 2
	Three Months Ended
	Mar			Dec		Sep		Jun			Mar
(dollars in thousands except per share data)	2026			2025		2025		2025			2025
Interest income
Interest and fees on loans	$	317,883		$	323,833	$	321,457	$	315,893		$	304,168
Interest on taxable securities		25,474			24,886		23,253		20,696			18,492
Interest on nontaxable securities		374			422		343		334			329
Interest on deposits in other banks		8,040			8,922		9,993		10,715			10,789
Total interest income		351,771			358,063		355,046		347,638			333,778

Interest expense
Interest on deposits		96,227			105,314		106,851		106,796			105,215
Interest on other borrowings		11,108			7,442		10,231		9,029			6,724
Total interest expense		107,335			112,756		117,082		115,825			111,939

Net interest income		244,436			245,307		237,964		231,813			221,839

Provision for loan losses		17,895			16,601		11,176		3,110			16,519
Provision for unfunded commitments		(1,338	)		6,348		11,446		(335	)		5,373
Provision for other credit losses		(6	)		1		8		(3	)		—
Provision for credit losses		16,551			22,950		22,630		2,772			21,892
Net interest income after provision for credit losses		227,885			222,357		215,334		229,041			199,947

Noninterest income
Service charges on deposit accounts		13,679			14,088		13,931		13,493			13,133
Mortgage banking activity		37,008			31,874		40,666		39,221			35,254
Other service charges, commissions and fees		1,027			1,102		1,124		1,158			1,109
Gain on securities		—			12		1,581		—			40
Equipment finance activity		9,086			8,434		8,858		6,572			6,698
Other noninterest income		9,120			6,317		10,114		8,467			7,789
Total noninterest income		69,920			61,827		76,274		68,911			64,023

Noninterest expense
Salaries and employee benefits		91,366			81,997		90,948		89,308			86,615
Occupancy and equipment		11,625			11,321		11,524		11,401			10,677
Data processing and communications expenses		16,793			16,236		16,058		15,366			14,855
Credit resolution-related expenses⁽¹⁾		509			953		770		657			765
Advertising and marketing		3,296			1,984		3,377		3,745			2,883
Amortization of intangible assets		3,393			3,879		3,879		4,076			4,103
Loan servicing expenses		7,380			7,267		8,142		7,897			7,823
Other noninterest expenses		22,718			19,453		19,868		22,810			23,313
Total noninterest expense		157,080			143,090		154,566		155,260			151,034

Income before income tax expense		140,725			141,094		137,042		142,692			112,936
Income tax expense		30,233			32,738		31,013		32,858			25,001
Net income	$	110,492		$	108,356	$	106,029	$	109,834		$	87,935

Diluted earnings per common share	$	1.63		$	1.59	$	1.54	$	1.60		$	1.27

(1) Includes expenses associated with problem loans and OREO, as well as OREO losses and writedowns.

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Period End Balance Sheet	Table 3
	Mar			Dec			Sep			Jun			Mar
(dollars in thousands)	2026			2025			2025			2025			2025
Assets
Cash and due from banks	$	235,114		$	253,807		$	216,927		$	249,676		$	253,289
Interest-bearing deposits in banks		1,094,185			835,113			826,237			920,594			1,039,111
Debt securities available-for-sale, at fair value		2,353,396			2,207,173			2,131,671			1,871,298			1,943,011
Debt securities held-to-maturity, at amortized cost		202,550			203,242			202,581			176,487			173,757
Other investments		100,718			85,443			70,644			69,910			65,630
Loans held for sale		496,629			623,152			604,136			544,091			545,388

Loans, net of unearned income		21,827,980			21,513,522			21,258,374			21,041,497			20,706,644
Allowance for credit losses		(354,682	)		(348,141	)		(345,294	)		(341,567	)		(345,555	)
Loans, net		21,473,298			21,165,381			20,913,080			20,699,930			20,361,089

Other real estate owned		3,091			2,918			3,137			1,825			863
Premises and equipment, net		216,397			213,097			211,567			211,434			207,895
Goodwill		1,015,646			1,015,646			1,015,646			1,015,646			1,015,646
Other intangible assets, net		51,430			54,824			58,703			62,582			66,658
Cash value of bank owned life insurance		424,164			420,583			417,096			414,381			410,890
Other assets		443,317			435,500			428,404			442,299			431,713
Total assets	$	28,109,935		$	27,515,879		$	27,099,829		$	26,680,153		$	26,514,940

Liabilities
Deposits
Noninterest-bearing	$	6,748,976		$	6,426,145		$	6,757,233		$	6,800,519		$	6,744,781
Interest-bearing		15,887,764			15,949,850			15,470,845			15,132,156			15,167,628
Total deposits		22,636,740			22,375,995			22,228,078			21,932,675			21,912,409
Other borrowings		887,974			558,039			337,094			376,700			276,744
Subordinated deferrable interest debentures		134,801			134,302			133,804			133,306			132,807
Other liabilities		368,293			371,515			384,152			319,794			369,178
Total liabilities		24,027,808			23,439,851			23,083,128			22,762,475			22,691,138

Shareholders' Equity
Preferred stock		—			—			—			—			—
Common stock		73,252			72,898			72,900			72,897			72,885
Capital stock		1,973,881			1,971,131			1,968,124			1,964,896			1,961,732
Retained earnings		2,307,358			2,210,385			2,115,712			2,023,493			1,927,489
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax		(1,476	)		8,312			5,171			(6,886	)		(14,430	)
Treasury stock		(270,888	)		(186,698	)		(145,206	)		(136,722	)		(123,874	)
Total shareholders' equity		4,082,127			4,076,028			4,016,701			3,917,678			3,823,802
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	$	28,109,935		$	27,515,879		$	27,099,829		$	26,680,153		$	26,514,940

Other Data
Earning assets	$	26,075,458		$	25,467,645		$	25,093,643		$	24,623,877		$	24,473,541
Intangible assets		1,067,076			1,070,470			1,074,349			1,078,228			1,082,304
Interest-bearing liabilities		16,910,539			16,642,191			15,941,743			15,642,162			15,577,179
Average assets		27,672,313			27,394,953			26,972,134			26,757,322			26,229,423
Average common shareholders' equity		4,107,670			4,044,338			3,964,207			3,865,031			3,798,149

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Asset Quality Information	Table 4
	Three Months Ended
	Mar			Dec		Sep		Jun			Mar
(dollars in thousands)	2026			2025		2025		2025			2025
Allowance for Credit Losses
Balance at beginning of period	$	401,558		$	392,362	$	377,181	$	381,507		$	368,663

Provision for loan losses		17,895			16,601		11,176		3,110			16,519
Provision for unfunded commitments		(1,338	)		6,348		11,446		(335	)		5,373
Provision for other credit losses		(6	)		1		8		(3	)		—
Provision for credit losses		16,551			22,950		22,630		2,772			21,892

Charge-offs		17,527			19,575		13,631		14,227			15,383
Recoveries		6,173			5,821		6,182		7,129			6,335
Net charge-offs (recoveries)		11,354			13,754		7,449		7,098			9,048

Ending balance	$	406,755		$	401,558	$	392,362	$	377,181		$	381,507

Allowance for loan losses	$	354,682		$	348,141	$	345,294	$	341,567		$	345,555
Allowance for unfunded commitments		52,004			53,342		46,994		35,548			35,883
Allowance for other credit losses		69			75		74		66			69
Total allowance for credit losses	$	406,755		$	401,558	$	392,362	$	377,181		$	381,507

Non-Performing Assets
Nonaccrual portfolio loans	$	81,969		$	84,711	$	77,257	$	75,286		$	86,229
Other real estate owned		3,091			2,918		3,137		1,825			863
Repossessed assets		4			4		3		2			—
Accruing loans delinquent 90 days or more		8,230			8,492		9,325		8,415			14,930
Non-performing portfolio assets	$	93,294		$	96,125

Ameris Bancorp Announces First Quarter 2026 Financial Results